Wednesday, August 6, 2008

PRB: Stands for Precocious Rowdy Boys?

I've been saving up examples for a while now for this series of posts. Ok, originally it was going to be just one post, but there are so many wonderful examples, I think this deserves at least a few.

Pre-Raphaelite Humor.

I've already done a post about the way the Pre-Raphaelites loved to draw cartoons of each other and themselves. And I have a few more examples of that to share as well. But beyond that, there are so many other examples of how the Brotherhood was, at times geniuses, and at times, just a rowdy bunch of boys who loved to pull pranks and laugh.

I'll begin with an example from Jen Parrish, who overheard a tour guide of Trinity Church in Boston pointing this out to a tour group. Jen (and me too!) found it hilarious.

....Ned depicted the head of Goliath as his dear friend William Morris. (chuckle) I have to think there was a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor by that choice.

Of course, as many people already know, the very name "Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood" was arguably originally chosen as a joke. And it was joked that the P.R.B. could be put on a sign outside the front door, so that those not in the know would assume it meant "Please Ring Bell."

The Beautiful Necessity

This blog is devoted to all things Pre-Raphaelite and Arts & Crafts. The two movements began during the Victorian era, and celebrated a return to the aesthetics and simplicity of medieval times, as well as the romance of nature and chivalry.

The central tenets of the two movements are still very important today, perhaps even more so.